by Coach Mat | 8 Dec, 2018 | About Coach Mat, Goggles, Tempo Trainer, Uncategorized
What basic gear would I recommend for your swim bag (or swim kit, as some folks call it)? Well, let’s take a look in mine to give you an idea what might go into yours. Swim Suit Probably the first, and most important item is my swim suit (or costume). I wear...
by Coach Mat | 1 Dec, 2018 | Attention/Focus, Buoyancy Shorts, Fins, Fistgloves, Hand Paddles, How To Train?, Mastery Process, Neurological Training, Neuromuscular Training, Skill Mastery, Swimmers Snorkel, Tempo Trainer, Wetsuits
[Note: I am sharing this post, one among hundreds, from our Mediterra Dojo library.] Training devices are extremely popular among swimmers and triathletes – with new fads coming each year – and people are often looking to their coach to have an opinion on these....
by Coach Mat | 21 Apr, 2018 | Speed and Pace, SPL, Stroke Length (SL), Swim Watch, Tempo Trainer, Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR)
In swimming measurements, do you know the difference between seconds per stroke and strokes per minute? Or the difference between tempo and stroke rate? Or when to use one over the other? Don’t worry if you don’t know, or don’t care. But sometimes...
by Coach Mat | 15 Oct, 2016 | Design Principles, External Feedback, Feedback Loop, How To Train?, Internal Feedback, Learning Methods, Mastery Process, Proprioception, Self-Coaching, Somatosensory Skill, Tempo Trainer, Training Theory
It is certainly encouraging and advantageous to be at a training event with a coach who can give you feedback right there in the moment of action. But, as one swimmer recently commented, it gets expensive to keep the live coach around. These events costs money....
by Coach Mat | 16 Aug, 2016 | Coaching Methods, Competitive/Performance Training, Design Principles, Energy Management, Failure, How To Train?, Injury, Injury Management, Injury Prevention, Kaizen (Continual Improvement), Muscle Training, Neuromuscular Training, Physiology, Plateau (No Progress), Practice Examples, Recommended Reading, Self-Coaching, SPL, Stroke Length (SL), Strength Training, Tempo Trainer, Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR), Training Theory, Triathlon Swimming, Weight-lifting
I want to keep confronting the false notion that fitness training and technical training are two separate activities in the pool. Fitness and Technique are truly inseparable, and should be regarded as such in every practice activity. All repetitive movement is...
by Coach Mat | 21 Mar, 2015 | Attention/Focus, Competitive/Performance Training, Distance Training, Energy Management, Lessons From Elites, Neuromuscular Training, Pace Combinations, Plateau (No Progress), Racing, Racing Skills, Speed and Pace, Speed Math, SPL, Stroke Length (SL), Sprint Training, Tempo Trainer, Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR), Training Theory, Triathlon Swimming
When you start feeling fatigue in your race (or while ‘just swimming’) you are urged to slow down. At some point you finally must give in. But when you do what is changing in your stroke to slow you down? SPL x Tempo = Pace (the inverse of the Speed...
